Love & Honey Fried Chicken Hosting Grand Opening Event Jan 17

BRYN MAWR, PA — Do you want to win a year's worth of fried chicken? Then you'll want to get in on the raffle offered by Love & Honey Fried Chicken in Bryn Mawr as part of their grand opening festivities.

Love & Honey is located at 1111 W. Lancaster Ave. in Bryn Mawr and is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

The business opened on Dec. 5, but is hosting its grand opening celebration on Jan. 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Part of the big debut's fun is a chance to win one order of chicken tenders a week for 52 weeks. Those interested in the sweepstakes should sign up online here.

"Close to 1,000 people have entered," Sharon Purser, who owns the restaurant with her husband Bill Kirkland and son Troy Purser, said. "And that number will go up."

The grand opening will feature local and county leaders for a ribbon cutting, discounted menu items, giveaways, a DJ, and more.

And it's all a labor of love for Purser and Kirkland.

Love & Honey opened in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties neighborhood in 2017, and since has earned high praise, and high sales. A few years ago, founders Todd and Laura Lyons, both Culinary Institute of America-trained chefs, started looking into expanding their business via franchising.

Kirkland spent years as a supplier for International Flavors & Fragrances, providing ingredients to major corporations, such as Campbell's. And before opening Love & Honey, Todd Lyons was a chef at Campbell's, headquartered just across the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey.

Kirkland and Todd Lyons remained in touch after he left to start Love & Honey with his wife, and when the opportunity to open a franchise arose, Kirkland and Purser jumped at the idea.

"I tasted their product, and knew how good their food was," Kirkland said of Love & Honey.

And, Purser's son was instrumental in getting the franchise going.

"He's tried all the hot chicken," she said. "When he tried Love & Honey, he said it was the best chicken he's had."

After aiming for an early- to mid-August opening, but being sidelined by various factors, Love & Honey opened its doors to hungry Main Liners last month.

"We are very pleased with how the community has responded," Kirkland said. The business so far has seen a large contingency of repeat customers.

Fans of the original Philly location will find the same menu items they know and love at the Bryn Mawr outpost, as well as the same made-to-order freshness found at the original spot. From Nashville hot sandwiches to tender and tater tot combo boxes, wings to cornbread, and pimento cheese to banana pudding, the classic southern-style menu is all there.

"We have the same recipes as Philly," Kirkland said. "They've been doing it a bit longer, but our goal is to be as flawless in delivery as Philly is."

All orders are made to order, with each piece of fried chicken being hand breaded before being cooked up. No hot food is premade or sitting under a heat lamp. While that guarantees quality and freshness, the tradeoff can be a longer wait than some customers expect.

Love & Honey is not a fast food restaurant, the Berwyn-based couple emphasized. Customers should expect to wait an average of about 10 to 20 minutes per order.

"I always say we're cooking the food for you, we’re preparing it for you," Kirkland said. "That takes time and love."

Luckily, customers can order ahead of time and pick their food up when it's hot and ready.

"Ninety-nine times out 100 times, people say it's worth the wait," Purser said.

Each piece of chicken is brined using the Lyons' secret formula, covered in breading, and deep-fried in oil, not a pressure cooker like chains such as KFC. This is because after about two years of testing, the Lyons' found pressure-cooking their recipe resulted in a darker-colored product.

Below Love & Honey Bryn Mawr are tanks connected to a system that takes in used fry oil and replaces it with fresh and filtered oil, and it's all automated. Repeated use of the same cooking oil can lead to a chemical change from heating and cooling cycles, and detritus from the frying process can also negatively impact the oil's quality.

An all that care is translating to more patrons.

"The Google reviews are great," Purser said. The Bryn Mawr location touts 4.8 stars based on 32 Google reviews.

"Sincerely friendly, scrupulously spotless and delicious, hand-made chicken, any way you prefer it," one user wrote.

"I ordered the Nashville chicken burger, tenders and the 6-piece dark meat combo, and everything was incredibly delicious," another said. "The coating is super crispy, and the meat is juicy. I added a little hot honey, and the combination was unreal."

"I have been a Love & Honey groupie since their first store opened in Northern Liberties a few years ago," someone else said. "I'm thrilled that they have a venue in Bryn Mawr."

Purser said when she and Kirkland attended Bryn Mawr Day in September, they heard people share a similar sentiment to the review above, with folks telling them they are excited to save a few bucks on gas by getting their beloved fried chicken locally and not in the city.

As part of their effort to become established among the community, Love & Honey accepts Nova Bucks, meaning Villanova University students can swipe their cards loaded with funds to pay for Love & Honey meals.

Kirkland and Purser are looking to strike up more partnerships with other nearby universities, colleges, public and private schools, and more.

And with Kelly's Taproom right next door, they are eyeing potentially extending their hours later into the night on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays to offer bar patrons another option for late night noshing.

"The foot traffic is great through here," Purser said.

"We have a lot of great partners along the street," Kirkland said.

Love & Honey Bryn Mawr is also looking to expand its catering business. With plenty of companies, medical facilities, first responder stations, and more along the Main Line, Purser and Kirkland want to make sure they are able to provide them with hot, high quality meals for whatever events may be on hand.

Learn more about Love & Honey online here.